What do you think?
Rate this book
Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER The breakthrough guide to understanding, treating, and healing attention deficit disorder, from renowned mental health expert and speaker, Dr. Gabor Maté.
With a new preface by the author.
From the bestselling author of When the Body Says No and The Myth of Normal, Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) as genetically based—and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition. In it, Maté, who himself is diagnosed with
Demonstrates that the condition is not a genetic "illness" but a response to environmental stress, and how "distractibility" is the psychological product of life experience;
Explains how ADD/ADHD can arise when circuits in the brain whose job is emotional self-regulation and attention control can fail to develop in infancy—and why;
Allows parents to understand what makes their children with ADD/ADHD tick, and helps adults with ADD/ADHD gain insights into their emotions and behaviours;
Expresses optimism about neurological development even in adulthood;
Presents a program of how to promote this development in both children and adults
…and much more.
Maté gives voice to the painful realities of ADD/ADHD and its effect on children as well as on careers and social paths in adults. Moving beyond "genetic risk," he focuses on the things we can changes in environment, family dynamics, and parenting choices. He draws heavily on his own experience with the disorder, as someone diagnosed with ADD and as the parent of three diagnosed children.
Providing a thorough overview of ADD/ADHD and its treatments, Scattered Minds is essential and life-changing reading for parents and the millions of diagnosed adults in North America today.
With a new preface by the author.
From the bestselling author of When the Body Says No and The Myth of Normal, Scattered Minds explodes the myth of attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) as genetically based—and offers real hope and advice for children and adults who live with the condition. In it, Maté, who himself is diagnosed with
Demonstrates that the condition is not a genetic "illness" but a response to environmental stress, and how "distractibility" is the psychological product of life experience;
Explains how ADD/ADHD can arise when circuits in the brain whose job is emotional self-regulation and attention control can fail to develop in infancy—and why;
Allows parents to understand what makes their children with ADD/ADHD tick, and helps adults with ADD/ADHD gain insights into their emotions and behaviours;
Expresses optimism about neurological development even in adulthood;
Presents a program of how to promote this development in both children and adults
…and much more.
Maté gives voice to the painful realities of ADD/ADHD and its effect on children as well as on careers and social paths in adults. Moving beyond "genetic risk," he focuses on the things we can changes in environment, family dynamics, and parenting choices. He draws heavily on his own experience with the disorder, as someone diagnosed with ADD and as the parent of three diagnosed children.
Providing a thorough overview of ADD/ADHD and its treatments, Scattered Minds is essential and life-changing reading for parents and the millions of diagnosed adults in North America today.
- GenresMental Health
Audible Audio
Published February 7, 2023
6 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Gabor Maté
71 books8,588 followersDr Gabor Maté (CM) is a Hungarian-born Canadian physician who specializes in the study and treatment of addiction and is also widely recognized for his unique perspective on Attention Deficit Disorder and his firmly held belief in the connection between mind and body health.
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944, he is a survivor of the Nazi genocide. His maternal grandparents were killed in Auschwitz when he was five months old, his aunt disappeared during the war, and his father endured forced labour at the hands of the Nazis.
He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1957. After graduating with a B.A. from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a few years as a high school English and literature teacher, he returned to school to pursue his childhood dream of being a physician.
Maté ran a private family practice in East Vancouver for over twenty years. He was also the medical co-ordinator of the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver Hospital for seven years. Currently he is the staff physician at the Portland Hotel, a residence and resource centre for the people of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Many of his patients suffer from mental illness, drug addiction and HIV, or all three.
Most recently, he has written about his experiences working with addicts in In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.
He made national headlines in defense of the physicians working at Insite (a legal supervised safe injection site) after the federal Minister of Health, Tony Clement, attacked them as unethical.
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944, he is a survivor of the Nazi genocide. His maternal grandparents were killed in Auschwitz when he was five months old, his aunt disappeared during the war, and his father endured forced labour at the hands of the Nazis.
He emigrated to Canada with his family in 1957. After graduating with a B.A. from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a few years as a high school English and literature teacher, he returned to school to pursue his childhood dream of being a physician.
Maté ran a private family practice in East Vancouver for over twenty years. He was also the medical co-ordinator of the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver Hospital for seven years. Currently he is the staff physician at the Portland Hotel, a residence and resource centre for the people of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Many of his patients suffer from mental illness, drug addiction and HIV, or all three.
Most recently, he has written about his experiences working with addicts in In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.
He made national headlines in defense of the physicians working at Insite (a legal supervised safe injection site) after the federal Minister of Health, Tony Clement, attacked them as unethical.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!